Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
Lillian Hellman’s drama about a Southern family motivated by secrets, lies, abuse, and greed comes alive at Arena Stage with a stellar cast deftly directed by Kyle Donnelly. The setting is Alabama in 1900, a state still recovering from the Civil War. Addie (Kim James Bey) and Cal (David Emerson Toney), no longer slaves, are still servants in the Giddens household. (And truly the only ones with any sense of right and wrong.) Regina Hubbard Giddens (Marg Helgenberger) seems to dominate the family, but she’s frustrated with her financial situation. In the early 20th century, only sons were considered heirs. So Regina seethes watching her brothers Benjamin (Edward Gero) and Oscar (Gregory Linington) enjoy the family’s wealth while she remains dependent on her husband, Horace (Jack Willis).
Hellman’s play holds up surprisingly well with themes that continue to resonate, particularly during this election year. The Little Foxes is part of Arena’s Lillian Hellman Festival. Watch on the Rhine, starring Marsha Mason, will be produced later in the season. There will also be staged readings, film screenings, and panel discussions to explore Hellman’s body of work.
Megan Graves and Kim James Bey
Superficially, the Giddens home has all the trappings of affluence and stability, the stage setting reflecting a more than comfortable existence for the family. (Set design, Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams; lighting, Nancy Schertler). Around the elegantly set dining room table, Regina plays hostess entertaining her brothers, Oscar’s wife, Birdie (Isabel Keating), and their son, Leo (Stanton Nash). But tensions roil underneath that cordial surface. Regina, who married Horace for his money, is disappointed that the match has not provided her with the financial freedom she desires. Oscar is dismissive and abusive of Birdie who self-medicates with alcohol. The Giddens daughter, Alexandra, called Zan (Megan Graves), adores her father, Horace, who has been away getting treatment for a serious heart condition. Largely ignored by Regina, Zan is taken under Birdie’s wing and watched over by Addie.
Gregory Linington, Edward Gero, and Stanton Nash
Benjamin and Oscar are out to increase their wealth by investing in a cotton mill. They need $75,000 and want Regina to ask Horace for the money. Horace has already given the brothers a thumbs down. (Oscar’s other plan for obtaining the money, to have Leo marry Alexandra, also is rejected by Horace.) So Leo, who works at the bank, steals Horace’s railroad bonds from a safety deposit box. Regina’s scheme to blackmail her brothers about the theft for a percentage of the mill is thwarted by Horace. Regina succeeds in the end, finally achieving financial independence, but at a huge cost.
Isabel Keating and Marg Helgenberger
As Regina, Helgenberger is a force to be reckoned with. Everything about her, from her strict posture to her steely gaze, sends the message that she is determined to succeed. There’s no evidence of the warm and helpful Catherine Willows from CSI. When she speaks, those honeyed southern tones are tinged with vinegar. The contrast with her daughter, Zan, is striking. Graves projects a youthful innocence in the first act, but by the end of the play, we witness her transformation, rejecting her mother’s values and ready to stand on her own. Even at this point, Regina can’t help but damn her daughter with faint praise. “Why Alexandra! You have spirit after all. I used to think you were all sugar water.”
Jack Willis, Marg Helgenberger, and Isabel Keating
Horace doesn’t appear until Act II, but when Willis enters, the effect is immediate. Moving slowly with a wooden walker, Willis’ Horace nonetheless is a powerful presence. There’s a touching moment between Horace, Birdie, Zan, and Addie, the four most likable characters in the household and in the play. They are comfortable with each other, their fondness and respect for Horace evident. Birdie, who overindulges in the elderberry wine served by Addie, has a laughing fit where she confesses she dislikes her son, Leo. (Keating’s performance here, and really throughout the play, is remarkable.) Horace’s medical condition adds to his concern for the three women and his worry that he won’t be around to protect them much longer. But he does what he can, telling Addie that he has left her $2,700, and revising his will to take care of Zan.
In contrast, Regina, never the doting wife, is not happy to have him home, and becomes further agitated when she discovers what he plans to do about the stolen bonds. She holds back nothing, telling Horace how much she despises him. And when he suffers a heart attack, she refuses to go upstairs to get his medication. He makes an attempt to climb the stairs, but collapses before he reaches the top. (The clever set, which includes a winding staircase, allows us to witness Horace’s futile climb.)
There are no real winners in the end. That quest for wealth and power at the expense of others always takes a toll. “Maybe it’s easy for the dying to be honest,” Horace tells Regina. “You’ll wreck the country, you and your kind, if they let you. But not me, I’ll die my own way, and I’ll do it without making the world worse. I’ll leave that to you.”
Lillian Hellman’s play, The Little Foxes, first premiered on Broadway in 1939, followed by a film in 1941. Tallulah Bankhead played the Hubbard family matriarch, Regina, on stage, with Bette Davis assuming that role on the big screen. The play has been revived on Broadway three times, with Anne Bancroft (1967), Elizabeth Taylor (1981), and Stockard Channing (1997) playing Regina. The Little Foxes will run from September 23 through October 30 at Arena Stage with Marg Helgenberger as Regina.
Since it’s been nearly ten years since the last Broadway revival, why now? “I think what this play has to say about women – powerful women – it’s incredibly timely, especially considering the election cycle that we are in,” said Megan Graves who plays Regina’s daughter, Alexandra, known as Zan. “Certainly, perspectives on women in 1900 [the time period of the play] are different, but in many ways, unfortunately, they are not. I think it’s surprisingly relevant.”
The Little Foxes centers on the very Southern Hubbard family: Regina; her husband, Horace; her two brothers, Benjamin and Oscar; Oscar’s wife, Birdie; and Zan. Hellman apparently based the characters on relatives from her mother’s family. In the early 20th century, only sons were considered legal heirs. Regina wants financial freedom and she will stop at nothing to obtain that independence. “The stakes in this play are very high, and the lengths that the characters will go to achieve their goals are a little scary,” said Megan. “I, for one, see that in D.C. politics, and so these characters, particularly Regina, but also her two brothers, Oscar and Ben, are very recognizable at any time in Washington. There’s a lot of humanity underneath this grasping for power, but at a certain point the emotional depth becomes subverted.”
Zan becomes the moral core of the play. “Alexandra is 17 and she’s trying to find who she is in the maelstrom of family dysfunction,” Megan said. “She becomes caught between her mother and her father who have opposing ideas about what should happen with the family business and to the family itself. And in the end she makes a choice for her own future that also means rejecting a lot of who she has been up to that point.”
Megan said that she read Hellman’s The Children’s Hour in college, but wasn’t as familiar with The Little Foxes. “I didn’t realize until I auditioned how autobiographical [the play] was,” she said. “We have a great dramaturgical team helping us and the information they are giving us is so incredibly informative. I was able to read interviews that Lillian Hellman gave about the play, what she intended, and what audiences take from the play and how those two things aren’t always in synch. I found that fascinating.”
The mother-daughter relationship is an important theme in the play. “Alexandra really craves her mother’s affection and approval,” Megan said. “The tricky thing is that she also has a very strong sense of right and wrong and at a certain point trying to please her mother and trying to do what’s right aren’t one and the same any more. So there’s a huge conflict for her when she has to choose between what she sees as doing the right thing and doing what her mother asks. That’s what really starts the journey towards growing up.”
Megan was born in Mesa, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. Homeschooled through high school, she received her BFA from the Shenandoah Conservatory, in Winchester, Virginia. After enjoying Shakespeare in high school, Megan thought she would become a writer. That all changed in college when she began doing local theater in northern Virginia.
She has become a familiar presence for theatergoers in the D.C. area, having appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Folger Theatre, Passion Play and Clementine in the Lower 9 at Forum Theatre, and several productions at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, including The BFG, winning a Helen Hayes Award.
Does she have a favorite? “That’s tough,” she said. “I had a great time doing Midsummer NIght’s Dream at Folger this spring. That was just a lovely group of people and a really joyful interpretation of the play that was just so refreshing and wonderful to do every night. I have to say I have a very warm place in my heart for Passion Play which I did at Forum Theater last year. That was probably the production that has changed how I look at theater.”
Megan said she feels lucky to be part of the cast for Arena’s production. “It’s like a master class in the rehearsals every day,” she said. “Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m in the scene; I can’t just watch. It’s so incredible.”
She feels very fortunate to be working with Helgenberger (above), who won an Emmy Award for playing K.C. Koloski in China Beach, which ran on ABC from 1988 to 1991, and is most identified with her long-running role as Catherine Willows on CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Helgenberger’s film credits include Erin Brockovich.
Helgenberger, Maegan said, “is lovely; she’s so giving and kind. We’ve had some good conversations about what the relationship is like [between Regina and Zan] and she’s game to try things. I was amazed at how transformative she is. She’s Regina. She has really taken this role on. The only thing I think about when I watch her work is how thoroughly she has stepped into this piece.”
Stepping into the characters also involves stepping into the dresses that women wore during the play’s time period. “There’s something about being laced into a corset that immediately transports you to the time,” she said. “I can’t slouch anymore; that 20-something slouching girl is gone and I have this incredible posture. It informs the character so much and layer on top of that the beautiful clothes that our designer [Jess Goldstein], unveils, it really helps to make the character come to life. l can’t wait to get all the costumes and get on stage and work with all of that.”
Megan hopes that the play’s themes will resonate with audiences, particularly through her character, Zan. “This play is really about power – who has it, who is trying to get it – manifested through wealth,” she said. “Those who decide in the end to reject that, is a commentary on the choices that people make. In the play there’s a statement about family versus power and choosing one or the other. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of neutral ground at least in this play as far as maintaining that control and also maintaining that family bond. For some it’s simple and for others like Zan, it’s very complicated.”
The Little Foxes Written by Lillian Hellman Directed by Kyle Donnelly Arena Stage 1101 Sixth Street SW 202-488-3300
In his time, Lyndon Johnson had a reputation for being brash, ruthless, and, at times, crude. Compared to what we’ve witnessed in the current presidential campaign, however, even the time LBJ pulled up his shirt to display for the press his scar after gall bladder surgery seems mild. Johnson was known for twisting arms to get things done. He was a master at negotiating when the odds were not in his favor. Yet his penchant to bully those around him (particularly his wife, Lady Bird), rankles. As the target of LBJ’s bouts of anger, Susan Rome shows us the gracious side of this first lady who, nonetheless must have suffered for what she was forced to endure.
Susan Rome as Lady Bird and Jack Willis as LBJ
All the Way, Robert Schenkkan’s Tony Award-winning play, focuses on LBJ’s push to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Arena Stage’s production, expertly directed by Kyle Donnelly, has a tour de force performance by Jack Willis in the title role with a talented and energetic supporting cast. In a city that eats and sleeps politics, particularly presidential politics, All the Way will have no trouble attracting an educated and sophisticated audience. Those who remember LBJ will appreciate the playwright’s attention to historic detail. Everyone else will enjoy history coming alive in an exuberant way.
Except for Willis and Bowman Wright, Jr., who plays Martin Luther King, Jr., the other 15 cast members assume multiple roles. At times the entrances and exits are so swift, it’s a challenge to keep up with the characters. And because the play is presented in the round Fichandler Stage, snippets of dialogue sometimes get lost when actors are facing one direction. Still those are minor quibbles in a production that hits the mark multiple times.
Richard Clodfelter as Hubert Humphrey and Jack Willis as LBJ
Willis, who originated the LBJ role at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, last wowed audiences at Arena with his performance in Sweat. It’s up to him to carry this production and he manages that with ease. There’s certainly a physical similarity between LBJ and Willis, but it’s the way Willis carries himself and dominates the stage that transforms what might have been a mimic into so much more. “Everyone wants power and if they say they don’t they’re lying,” he booms, while grabbing the lapels of then Senator Hubert Humphrey (Richard Clodfelter). Humphrey, of course, was willing to put up with a great deal from Johnson, hoping to be selected as his running mate.
The play opens with Johnson assuming the presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. (He was sworn in on Air Force One just two hours and eight minutes after JFK’s death.) While Johnson was intent on pushing the passage of civil rights legislation to fulfill JFK’s legacy, he also fervently believed in equal rights. “Nothing will change in this country until Negroes can vote,” he says. Besides winning over Southern Democrats, Johnson worked to convince Republican Senator Everett Dirksen to support the bill.
JaBen Early as Stokely Carmichael, David Emerson Tony as Roy Wilkins, Desmond Bing as Bob Moses, Craig Wallace as Ralph Abernathy and Bowman Wright as Martin Luther King, Jr.
King’s situation is similar to Johnson’s. He must use his persuasive powers to bring together his disparate group of supporters. These include Stokely Carmichael (JaBen Early), Bob Moses (Desmond Bing), Roy Wilkins (David Emerson Toney), and Ralph Abernathy (Craig Wallace). Shannon Dorsey plays King’s wife, Coretta, as well as activist Fannie Lou Hamer. Adrienne Nelson does double duty, playing Humphrey’s wife, Muriel, and Lurleen Wallace, wife of the Alabama governor (played by Cameron Folmar).
Once the legislation is passed, the second act concerns LBJ’s reelection. Even though there was fear about a backlash after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the weak candidacy of Barry Goldwater handed Johnson a landslide victory. The play ends with a celebration, streamers raining down on Johnson who finally won the office in his own way and on his own terms.
Photos by Stan Barouh
All the Way Fichandler Stage Arena Stage 1101 Sixth Street, SW 202-554-9066
When Shannon Dorsey began doing research for her roles in the Tony Award-winning play All the Way, her best sources came from family members who remembered what it was like to live in Washington, D.C. in the 1960s. Back then, D.C. was essentially a southern city where both racism and segregation existed. Against this backdrop, President Lyndon Johnson was focused on passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While LBJ was front and center, there were many players on that political stage. And there will be many actors playing those roles in Arena Stage’s much anticipated production directed by Kyle Donnelly which runs through May 8. Shannon learned about the two women she plays, Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr., and Fannie Lou Hamer, a voting and civil rights activist, and found their stories both inspiring and tragic.
We asked Shannon, along with two other actors – Adrienne Nelson, who will play Muriel Humphrey and Lurleen Wallace, and Susan Rome, who will play Lady Bird Johnson – to reflect on their characters and the timeliness of staging Robert Schenkkan’s All the Way now in our nation’s capital.
You are likely not old enough to remember the Civil Rights battle in the 1960s. What research did you do that helped take you back to that historic time?
My first resource is my family. Both sides are native to D.C., with one side going back at least five generations. The other side migrated from North Carolina three or four generations ago. Both sides, being in D.C. for long, will remind you that D.C. was still the South, especially back then. The liberal attitude we see today did not exist for them. What did exist was overt racism, blatant segregation and an overwhelmingly distinct sense of danger when encountering a white person. Some of them were teenagers and young adults during this time and their firsthand accounts gave me a lot of insight to what the climate was like for black people, especially black women. From there, I began to lightly peruse the autobiographies of both women. Then, I began to get more specific – looking for nuances to further feed and shape my own insight.
What have you learned that surprised you the most?
That Coretta was a bona fide tomboy! The story about how she accidentally cut her cousin in the head with an axe is surprising; no one would have ever put Coretta and tomboy in the same sentence. This seemingly surprising information brings a beautiful, unexpected complexity to this larger-than-life icon. I found a picture of her – smiling with a hint of mischief and tawny from playing out in the sun – that further shaped who she could have been as a child. It is one of my favorite pictures of her.
And that in 1961 Fannie Lou Hamer was given a “Mississippi Appendectomy” which is the moniker for unsolicited hysterectomies given to poor black Southern women. Even though it was a common thing in the pre-civil rights South – for some reason I had some surprise that she was victim of this only a few years prior to her famous speech.
What have you learned about your character that helped to inform your performance?
That Fannie and Coretta were warrior women. They fought so that people that look like me can have a better quality of live. They shared the similar qualities – they both sang, they both were mothers (even though Fannie didn’t bear children of her own she did adopt), they both fought for civil rights unabashedly. Coretta was definitely a fashion icon, but like Fannie, she was in poverty even after Martin’s death. They were more than just wives, they were legit fighters in this movement and we would not have been successful without them!
What comments or opinions did you hear from relatives and friends when you told them about this play and the woman you would play?
Usually, there is excitement when I mention Coretta, because she is such a popular household name, and then curiosity if it is Fannie Lou Hamer, because a lot of people have NO idea who she is.
Bowman Wright as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Shannon Dorsey as Coretta Scott King. Photo by Stan Barouh
How does LBJ’s portrayal in this play compare to the one we saw in the film, Selma? Do you feel seeing the Civil Rights battle from different points of view helps or hinders how succeeding generations interpret history?
LBJ’s portrayal in both the stage play and the film can provide perspective, and hopefully encourage curiosity to dig more for what could be the truth.
In general, I feel the media can help and hinder – honestly, I feel it is more hurtful that not. Fear mongering has been around for ages, but never have we had such accelerated, instantaneous access to it. Access to information, whether it is correct or otherwise, will not change in this time BUT I hope more people ASK QUESTIONS.
We are in the midst of a presidential campaign. What characteristics attributed to LBJ might the current crop of candidates seek to emulate? What should they avoid?
The LBJ in our play is one that decides to do the right thing no matter what. Takes time for him to get there, but the moral energy lies underneath it all. Not idealistic, moral.
They should avoid attitudes of entitlement/privilege, profiting from another subjugation. LBJ says “This is about those who got more, wantin’ to hang on to what they got, at the expense of those who got nothin’. And feel good about it!”
Why is it important that this play be staged in DC now? LBJ says it best in the play, “
Witnessing the beginnings of the fight for Civil Rights, might audience goers be energized to continue that fight? Or disappointed that more has not been accomplished? Both! This play will ignite audiences to instill true reform and will also show how far behind we are.
What has the opportunity to be in this play meant to you? Will you come away changed in any way?
As a D.C. native, I just can’t express how important it is for me to be a part of this play. First, I get to perform at the local theater I have ALWAYS wanted to perform at more than anywhere else in the area, so I am ecstatic and hugging everybody I see. But to play such iconic figures in the same town where legislation happened to give my parents general rights so that I can be born with these rights, is more than a blessing.
Change is the only thing that is constant in the world, so I will definitely, or have definitely, shifted in ways that I do and do not see. But it is awesome. Learning about these women has given me even more to go forward with.
Lurleen Wallace and Muriel Humphrey – two women who were caught up in the political whirlwind that defined a decade. During the battle to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Muriel Humphrey was married to Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a supporter of the legislation, while Lurleen Wallace was married to Alabama Governor George Wallace who opposed integration. In Arena Stage’s production of the Tony Award-winning play, All the Way, Adrienne Nelson will appear as these two very different women. For Nelson, appearing in Robert Schenkkan’s play has taken her on an historic journey. Muriel was born in the Midwest, and Lurleen, in the south, both would go on to succeed their husbands in office. Muriel would be appointed to her husband’s seat in the Senate after he died, while Lurleen was elected Alabama’s governor after her husband was ineligible to run for reelection.
We asked Adrienne how she prepared for her roles and what she learned about these two women who were married to powerful men at opposite ends of the political spectrum. In a previous story, Susan Rome talked about playing Lady Bird Johnson, and Shannon Dorsey, who will play Coretta Scott King, will be featured in a future story.
None of you actually lived through the Civil Rights battle in the 1960s. What research did you do that helped take you back to that historic time?
As I delved deeper into this explosive chapter in our country’s history, I began with the Humphreys to revisit this time period first through the prism of their experiences and journeys. Hubert Humphrey’s biography The Education of a Public Man My Life and Politics has proven to be very enlightening as well as footage from Hubert H. Humphrey The Art of the Possible. I watched the PBS documentary on George Wallace as well as the John Frankenheimer film based on Marshall Frady’s ’96 biography Wallace: The Classic Portrait of Alabama Governor George Wallace. Side note: my husband actually worked on the film in L.A. under co-producer and family friend, former head of casting for CBS Ethel Winant. He did all sorts of things for the production large and small though always remembers having to read the big MLK speech during an early table read with just the principals at the Ambassador Hotel. My husband, Ian Armstrong, is not African American and of course has such incredible respect for Dr. King so was a bit wary of reading it to say the least.Though when they shared they really needed to just hear it for the rhythm/pacing and thanks to Mr. Sinise’s encouragement (Gary Sinese starred in the film as Wallace), he gave it his best shot. Side note #2, I have read that George Wallace did NOT approve of many parts of this film.
Although I’ve found articles, letters, recordings, videos, documentaries, and photographs to be extremely useful, I also have enjoyed rewatching Selma, Mississippi Burning and The Long Walk Home to remember and revisit different interpretations of this chapter. Just like Schenkkan’s All the Way, they are not documentaries. I find it can still be extremely productive for an actor to imagine the private moments and conversations that were not captured – and these films smartly fill in/offer up many possibilities of what dialogue might have been shared behind closed doors before different pivotal moments in history. I can’t wait for Mr. Schennkan to write an epic play about President Obama’s time at the White House. Can we make this happen?
As our inspiring and visionary director Kyle Donnelly has encouraged/reminded us, it is often most useful and revealing to see what happens before and after an iconic photograph is taken and speech is made and legacy is set. Some of my most treasured pieces of research have been seeing glimpses of Muriel Humphrey (and Lurleen Wallace, the MFDP – Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party – members, and LBJ’s secretaries) before during and after an iconic and historic shot was taken and also on film thanks to (for Muriel) Ladybird’s home videos! There’s some great raw footage of the Humphreys at the ranch in ’55 that foreshadow and reveal more than 100 articles could.
The Humphreys – Adrienne Nelson and Richard Clodfelter
There are also wonderful recordings of Muriel talking to LBJ on the phone and a video of Muriel’s first day as a Senator (albeit from a time later in her life) that provide some character gold and connective tissue.
I’m also so very grateful to the beautiful and generous guidance and expertise of Arena’s Literary Manager Linda Lombardi for leading us to the most reputable and revealing resources to better understand the complexities, nuances, personalities involved in the MFDP, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Freedom Summer, Congress of Racial Equality, NAACP, and other groups and turning points during this movement, especially the timelines and interconnections and challenges/divisions between some of the groups.
What did you learn that surprised you the most?
I was actually most surprised by the game/”dance with the devil” that politicians had to play publicly and privately to serve and champion their (and their constituents’) interests and to get anything done/passed. I love that Schenkkan’s play allows us to viscerally experience up close the public dance, personal sacrifices, professional compromises and private moments (the latter where a little of the actual truth and beliefs are shared), to better understand the players involved, the scapegoats, the lesser known allies, the egos, and the pros and cons of getting power and becoming addicted to what it affords/promises/entices. I’ve lived in DC for 20 years. I perhaps should not be surprised. I have lived among many of the players. During various chapters of my life in the city, I have taught their children. I’ve served them food. I’ve performed for them. I’ve produced events with them. I’ve overheard them revealing their honest thoughts at local watering holes. They’ve told me outright at local watering holes what they really want/feel/how they have to do it/make it happen! But I was still surprised when reading what many people (during the Civil Rights Movement and especially LBJ and MLK) had to endure for the greater good- or their greater good.
Lurleen and George Wallace
Even hard working and kind hearted Muriel Humphrey realized what the power of the first lady could allow. I was also surprised to learn of so much of the Lurleen Wallace story. I knew she had become the first female governor of Alabama though didn’t realize that her doctor and George knew of signs of cancer years before they told her and began treatment that could have saved her life. I knew that George had a bit of a “come to Jesus” at the end of his life though didn’t realize (until after further research) that he awarded the Lurleen Wallace Award of Courage to Vivian Malone, one of the African American students he tried to bar from the University of Alabama in that horrific historic stand-off. He also apologized to the other student James Hood in 1995.
What did you learn about your character that helped to inform your performance?
There have been many books written about Lurleen Wallace from a very diverse group of writers from The Intimate Story of Lurleen Wallace: Her Crusade of Courage by Anita Smith to American Evita: Lurleen Wallace by Janice Law to Lady of Courage The Story of Lurleen Burns Wallace by Jack House to even a book for children Lurleen B. Wallace Alabama’s First Woman Governor by Alice Yeager. Although I learned many facts about her through very official and more nuanced historic/governmental sources, as an actor, I often embraced and found more useful some of the dishier and more personal accounts that talked about everything from her nickname “Mutt,” for following her father around on fishing trips, to her love of coffee and Benson and Hedges and Fire and Ice Revlon lipstick (the latter I have found and have been wearing for Lurleen) to the chapter where she wanted to get a divorce and often took the kids to her parents but was talked out of it by George’s brother and how she would later dismiss such a chapter like a political pro/total spin goddess.
I loved reading about the simple things that brought Lurleen pleasure and when and how she would stand up to George. Although they were in a stronger place (as a couple and financially) in ’63 and ’64, it’s useful to have the backstory to fuel and color and help with when the cracks are revealed. I loved reading about the lesser publicized details about how she (and all the jobs she took!) was instrumental in helping his rise. From creating crib sheets for his days on the bench to working many low level jobs (though some low level government jobs which would ultimately help her actually make some things happen for the mentally ill when she was governor). Often her paycheck was the only thing feeding their young family. It was more than being a helpful wife knocking out breakfast, babies, a smile and a wave!
Hubert and Muriel Humphrey
Of course it’s challenging (as I am a self-proclaimed bleeding heart liberal and very concerned with LBGT rights, women’s rights and minority rights!) to play this woman—even though generous with children, hard-working, compassionate towards mentally ill patients and a cancer sufferer, she also shared George’s beliefs about segregation, at least enough to be as involved as she was and to stay with him. Unlike George she was better loved and respected by Alabamians including African Americans. Do they know something about her REAL beliefs that I wasn’t able to find by examining her actions? Also, I feel I have learned the most about Lurleen through reading notes from her oldest daughter (who had major issues with her father and was extremely devoted to her mother- she was there during their rough chapters before they had any money and when George was running around on Lurleen and possibly hitting her) and dear friend Mary Jo Ventress. I learned about her physicality and speech through her speeches from ’66, videos of her with George during his rallies and an extensive amount of candid and official photographs. Again it’s those shots that reveal the cracks/foreshadowing of something that become most treasured for an actor, or at least for me.
It was a special gift to learn more about Muriel Humphrey. Not since playing Calamity Jane (in ahem the late 80s) have I been able to play someone from my home state of South Dakota. It’s broken my heart to realize how intolerant it’s become about certain rights for women and minorities though try to cherish what was (and in certain parts still is) beautiful and productive when I grew up and the SD that nurtured the likes of Hubert and Muriel! Hubert was born in Wallace, SD, 20 min from my hometown (Webster) and Muriel three hours away in Huron, SD. Although my mother is from Boston, most all my family is in Massachusetts and I’ve lived in D.C. for nearly 20 years, I grew up in Webster, SD— with much of her dialect/rhythms/essence – the earnestness, self-deprecation, sweetness, optimism, kind of corny/cheesiness that she beautifully possesses. I will do my best to honor her spirit and heart. There’s an almost childlike quality to her friendship and love with Hubert. Though she’s not as simple as she may come across.
I root for Muriel. I know what it feels like to arrive in a big city and have to try to figure out the game. And also the realization that sometimes you and others have to compromise to get what you want for the greater good in the end. I understand how sometimes people perceive kindness for weakness. I know what it’s like to want to take care of everyone and make the most out of life. I know what’ it’s like to be laughed at for your earnestness and optimism. I love that she found Hubert. He valued her. He listened to her. He incorporated many of her ideas. They had such a magical and wonderful love story and friendship and partnership. I loved her adoration, respect and love for his ideas. I also loved reading about some of their earlier adventures like hitting a cow on their honeymoon. Apparently they had to pay not only for the damages to Hubert’s father’s car that they borrowed but also to the FARMER even though it was the cow’s fault.
Both women did a lot of thankless work to help their men get what they wanted professionally – how they were treated varied though it’s interesting to examine all the women and other men behind the men.
Humphrey Pins courtesy of Richard Clodfelter
What comments or opinions did you hear from relatives and friends when you told them about this play and the woman you would play?
I was sorry that friends and family didn’t know as much about the wives but knew plenty about George Wallace and Hubert Humphrey! It’s been gratifying to fill in some of the blanks and champion the life of Muriel – and even many of LBJ’s hard working and very intelligent and gifted secretaries through this research and rehearsal process.
How does LBJ’s portrayal in this play compare to the one we saw in the film, Selma? Do you feel seeing the Civil Rights battle from different points of view helps or hinders how succeeding generations interpret history?
I think it’s very helpful to share multiple views.You cannot put an entire man’s life and legacy into three hours. With a man who accomplished so much and was so controversial (positively and negatively) I think it’s productive to have many gifted writers, filmmakers and other artists take a stab at uncovering some of the complex and fascinating layers.
We are in the midst of a presidential campaign. What characteristics attributed to LBJ might the current crop of candidates seek to emulate? What should they avoid?
It seems like some of today’s candidates feel the power of plain speaking and dumbing things down more than ever. (Or perhaps their fans fan the flames/are responsible for lowering the bar.) I do think there’s a time for extra clarity and “keeping it real,” but I also cherish language and a beautifully written, thoughtful, organized and graciously and passionately delivered speech. I’m saddened when it seems to be a detriment/negative to sound and BE educated and reflect complex ideas vs repeating the catchy and often cheeky fifth grade reading level sound bite. At least during his legendary private meetings, LBJ seemed to have the perfect speech for every person he was lobbying. I wonder if that made him less effective when making speeches for the masses. I guess with all of the surveillance and tracking devices, today’s politicians should be wary of what they say in some of the private meetings as well!
Why is it important that this play be staged in DC now?
I think this provocative and powerful play is important to be staged now to remind everyone of the stakes involved (LBJ says in the play, “This is the most important election of your lifetime.”) It will inspire everyone not only to get involved, get educated about the issues and to VOTE but also to take another look at some of the people who fought the very difficult and deadly battles to make a movement happen and change the laws to better the lives of so many Americans.
What has the opportunity to be in this play meant to you? Did you come away changed in any way?
I am incredibly grateful to play a part in examining and exploding this electrifying story with such talented artists and the rockstar team at Arena Stage. I love any play that inspires you to do more, read more and insist on more coverage about those relegated to the footnotes of history, make some noise, honor those whom fought the tough fights for vital freedoms and opportunities. It’s icing on the cake when the same experience can also inspire you to bust a gut from the crackling humor and wit and even bad behavior (thank you, Jack Willis), have your heart gutted and “mm hmm!” (thank you, Bowman Wright) loudly throughout the dazzling history. I also am incredibly honored and invigorated by the collaborative spirit, incredibly high bar, and gracious and generous energy that has infused every part of the process so far. I can’t wait to share the show and experience with everyone! I will forever cherish this journey!
First Ladies often wield power behind the throne. After Nancy Reagan’s death, stories abounded about the influence she had during her husband Ronald Reagan’s presidency. All the Way, Robert Schenkkan’s Tony Award-winning drama about Lyndon Johnson’s fight to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, places another First Lady in the spotlight. Susan Rome, familiar to fans of The Wire as DA Ilene Nathan, will make her Arena Stage debut playing Lady Bird Johnson. The production, which will run from April 1 through May 18, will be directed by Kyle Donnelly.
We asked Susan, along with Shannon Dorsey and Adrienne Nelson, who will appear as Coretta Scott King and Lurleen Wallace, respectively, about playing historic figures during what was such a tumultuous time in America. Susan Rome’s answers are below. Answers by Shannon and Adrienne will appear soon.
You are likely not old enough to remember the Civil Rights battle in the 1960s. What research did you do that helped take you back to that historic time?
I was born during the Johnson presidency, a month before the election depicted in the play. I remember the day Johnson died…We had gone to DC for the day, to go to the Smithsonian. I was eight years old, sitting in the car with the radio on, when the news came on…
My parents were ardent Civil Rights and anti-war supporters, and I recall marching with them, being carried on my father’s shoulders. I don’t recall their opinion of LBJ, but do recall that they had a copy of the satirical play “MacBird!” on their bookshelf.
Susan, age five, at a Peace March in 1970
After being cast as Lady Bird last summer, I had some time in my schedule to go down to Austin to visit the LBJ Ranch – which has a wealth of information regarding the Civil Rights Act and LBJ’s relationship with Dr. King. I spent a day with archivists and researchers at the LBJ Museum and Library on the campus of UT. I love history and researching roles, and was fortunate to have great access to recordings, documents, photos and artifacts, as well as conversations with historians whose life’s work is all things LBJ. Also, I read Betty Boyd Caroli’s brand-new book, Lady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage that Made a President. It is brilliantly researched and was an invaluable resource.
I watched videos, listened to countless recordings of Lady Bird’s voice (including the lovely audio description she did at the Johnson Memorial Grove near Boundary Channel), LBJ’s phone conversations, Lynda and Luci’s recollections of their mother, did a drive-by of the Johnson residence on 30th Place NW in DC…
I also read Katharine Graham’s Personal History and listened to audio recordings of her conversations with LBJ. Incredible woman.
What have you learned that surprised you the most?
Specifically regarding Lady Bird, much of what the public perception is centers around her “beautification” work. She didn’t like that term; thought it too cosmetic. She cared deeply about how our physical environment reflects our inner state of being, and wanted to transform the least picturesque areas of the country (inner cities and interstates) to reflect a pride of self and place.
What have you learned about your character that helped to inform your performance?
Lady Bird is often perceived and portrayed as being completely subservient to and bullied by her husband. I have learned that she was a pragmatist and almost completely without pretense. She was very self-aware and yet shy. She was a bright, well-educated business-woman, yet with a Southern gentility. She was a survivor; her mother died when she was five years old, and her father was quite absent. She understood Lyndon, and was able to support him in his aspirations and through his moments of crippling self-doubt. She knew exactly how to handle Lyndon, giving him her version of the “Johnson Treatment”! She was a First Lady much more in the mold of Eleanor Roosevelt (whom she admired greatly) than in the style of Mamie Eisenhower.
Susan in Lady Bird’s shower
Having stood in her bathroom (I was even invited to stand in her shower!), sat in her husband’s chair, and been surrounded by her clothes, I feel that I can access the superficial things that lend verisimilitude to my “Lady Bird.”
I want to get the details right. She was a great and good lady.
What comments or opinions did you hear from relatives and friends when you told them about this play and the woman you would play?
People have been delighted for me in terms of the professional opportunity (my first role at Arena Stage), and other than being referred to as the “Brown Wren of Texas” by one friend, I have heard not a disparaging word!
How does LBJ’s portrayal in this play compare to the one we saw in the film, Selma? Do you feel seeing the Civil Rights battle from different points of view helps or hinders how succeeding generations interpret history?
I did not see Selma, but I understand that his portrayal was not entirely accurate. One of the things I asked about when I was down in Austin was LBJ’s passion for Civil Rights. Was it out of political expediency (did he want to be “on the right side of history”) or sincere belief in racial equality? What I learned was that, as a young teacher in a Mexican school in Cotulla, Texas, he was profoundly impacted by the role that extreme poverty plays in denying opportunity to minorities in this country, and that he was viscerally in favor of Civil Rights.
Lady Bird’s closet
The role that J. Edgar Hoover had in all of the political machinations cannot be over-stated. He had so much dirt on everybody that LBJ had to manage him with kid gloves.
It is essential to view history with a clear sense of context. In this way we can understand various points of view, and can appreciate those who had the courage of their convictions.
We are in the midst of a presidential campaign. What characteristics attributed to LBJ might the current crop of candidates seek to emulate? What should they avoid?
LBJ was a consummate politician; he had a profound understanding and respect for the democratic process. He was a master manipulator.
I am not a psychologist, but if LBJ were in the political arena today, he may not have the career he had. His episodes of generosity and pragmatism contrasted with his bullying, offensive behavior and his crippling self-doubt might have landed him on a psychiatrist’s couch with a psychotropic cocktail on his bed-side table. He was a brilliant political operative with a folksy, authentic flare.
Susan in Austin, Texas
In terms of this current crop, on the Republican side, the art of discourse is officially dead. It seems that many of our current candidates view the American people as idiotic lemmings (no offense to lemmings). LBJ had a very early-mid 20th century view of women — retrogressive and objectifying, to say the least. The current group should avoid that. Definitely. Absolutely.
Why is it important that this play be staged in D.C. now?
This is precisely what is so exciting for me. To tell this story, now, in this place? Civil rights, equal protection under the law…It is staggering to believe, that on the heels of eight years under our first African-American Commander-in-Chief, an administration with barely a blemish, that we are, as a country, so mired in racial fear and hatred. It is shameful and causes me a lot of sadness. Here we are, 50 years after the events of this play, and it seems that we are even more polarized in some ways. That race is such a huge issue today is indicative of how far we still have to go in terms of mutual understanding and removal of fear of “otherness.” This story, in an election year, in Washington? Required viewing…
Witnessing the beginnings of the fight for Civil Rights, might audience goers be energized to continue that fight? Or disappointed that more has not been accomplished?
My son said to me two years ago, on MLK Day (he was eight), “Mom, don’t wait for change; BE the change.” We can never give up, we can never be silent. We must each do what we can. I hope that the audience leaves the theater energized and optimistic, and a little bit less comfortable about how things are.
What has the opportunity to be in this play meant to you? Will you come away changed in any way?
I am almost always deeply impacted by the work I do. Telling this story, now, with this brilliant creative team…I am honored to be a part of this play (which is more than that — it is a theatrical event, really!). I am sure that it will energize me to do all I can to get the VOTE out in November.
